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Adivasis in the forests of Chhattisgarh's Hasdeo Aranya area are continuing their decade-long protest against coal mining even as Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel gave final clearances for Parsa opencast mining early this month on 6 April.
On Tuesday, 26 April, the villagers who woke up to the sound of tree felling and machines axing the forest held another protest, forcing the deforestation drive to be stopped by the authorities.
On 6 April, the Parsa coal mines in Chhattisgarh's Hasdeo Aranya forests was given the final permit of non-forestry use of land, despite a decade-long protest by the Adivasis. The protesters have alleged falsified gram sabha permissions, pressure politics, and unmet promises by both the state government and mining companies.
The Parsa opencast coal mine has been allotted to Rajasthan's Vidyut Nigam Limited (RVUNL).
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change granted environment clearance (EC) for Parsa coal mine to operate at the capacity of 5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) in July 2019.
Following this, the stage-I forest clearance was granted for the Parsa coal mine in February 2020. Then, in October 2021, the stage-II clearances were issued for the project.
On 6 April, the final approval by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Chhattisgarh government for the Parsa project was issued along with directions to the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Chhattisgarh and the nodal officer for Forest Conservation Act (FCA) to ensure all conditions mentioned are implemented.
The Parsa coal block's final approval came with various conditions and stipulations:
RVUNL has been asked to upload the digital map files on e-green watch portal regarding the area diverted, the area under compensatory afforestation, conservation works with regards to soil and moisture along with the wildlife management plans for the area.
The legal status of the diverted forestland shall remain unchanged and the afforestation shall be done in three years.
The net present value of the diverted forest should be submitted as per Supreme Court order/guidelines and RVUNL should comply with all recommendations given by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) on biodiversity conservation.
Muneshwar Porte, a resident of Fatehpur village in Surguja district, whose family will now be displaced due to this project, says they have witnessed the fate of Adivasis who were displaced by coal mine projects and do not want to meet the same end.
Activists fighting against the coal mining projects in one of the largest un-fragmented forest patches of central India claim that around 700 people will be displaced and around 840 hectares of dense forest land will be destroyed under the Parsa coal mine project.
As per a forest department survey of 2009, around 95,000 trees were expected to be razed down in the process. However, activists now claim that the total number of trees has increased to around 2 lakh.
"Chhattisgarh state government gave final approval for Parsa under Section 2 of Forest Conservation Act, 1980. However, this clearance is based on a forged gram sabha consent," said Bipasha Paul, a member of Chhattisgarh Bachao Aandolan (CBA), an NGO working for the Adivasi rights in coal mining affected Chhattisgarh.
Sudiep Shrivastava, an environmental lawyer based in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur, called it a betrayal by the Congress government.
"The biodiversity report conducted jointly by the WII [Wildlife Institute of India] and ICFRE [Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education] has clearly stated that mining further into the Hasdeo forest is not recommended. It categorically denied mining, but no one is really reading the report or its concerns. It will have great impact in the upcoming elections and even greater on the human lives and environment," Shrivastava said.
Talking to The Quint, Alok Shukla, convener of CBA, stated that this was being done by the same Congress government which had come to power on its promise to safeguard tribal interests and oppose exploitation. Everything changes after people get the mandate, he said.
Ramlal Kariyam, a villager, said that though they have been protesting against the mining to ensure protection of Adivasis and their rights, the same government which once had stood with them is now destroying them.
In 2021, a biodiversity report conducted by the ICFRE with the WII, had said:
Out of the total 24 coal blocks in the Hasdeo region, 14 were recommended to not be opened for mining considering the conservation of forest tracts in the report.
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